Electrically operated shears



Dec. 6, 1949 H E. PAGE 'ELECTRICALLY OPERATED SHEARS.

Filed May 12, 1945 Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES iPATENT OFFICE ELEQTEICALLY OPERATED SHEARS Herber 3.3.. l ge, A hambr C li?! Application May 12, 1945, Serial No. 593,432

(01. 3 --=ZZS) Claims. 1

My invention r la s to ha d t o s pa t cularly Qt the type operated by wingin m m of a i ted utting blade or blades, and more particu arly to she ars- Shears are made n a Wide variety of o ms ac cording to the use for which t ey are intend d. those to e. used for cutting fabri or light caus o sheet meta usually compris ng a pair o cutting blades pivot d together and perat d. y lever nieces formed in egra with t e blade or secured thereto. Shears intended for heavier duty sue as or utting e y gauges of met l m y be formed it a single eutting blade es l lated about a nivet by a le r, Whi e e other blad is mounted n a handle ca y ng the pivoted lade, or ins ead o a sec nd la e the hea o the. handle may be formed. o n vi e anvil or bearin supp ting t e wor while the movable blade shears through the Work from the p osi side- 'lhe eavy duty type o sh a usual y a e a elativ y short out a each, Stroke as compa ed with light duty shea s sin e mo ne r a to be applied to cut through the W rk.

An o ject of the invent on is to app ef icient yet relatively light means for electrically Operatins ools su h shears by util zing e p rt-n effo t exerted by a solenoid core pull d in o an in ermi tently en rgized coil to oscillate the mor able b ade or b ade of he shears a furt er object oi t e in ention is o pro ide a ne er dri en han to l such s. shears with all mo in arts c pt t tnttin bla e m unted n a. h n le of convenien to b readi y held in the hand of the operator.

a sti l fur h r e i t oi he nvention is to provide a n we driv n. hand tool f he hind e cr bed whi h s. ias cuttin and wi h which i s possib e to accu ately fellow irr gular l nes eunt ur alo g which th m terial being worked is o b out Yet. ano her object of th n ention is o are vine an el ctrical y ope a e hand o l sue as sh ars w ich. may e u with he usua indus= trial urrent sup ly either A- C. or D, (3., hough when used wi h the latter type of curren a tandard tyne o make and brea s tilized.

Stil ano he o ec of the inv ntien o pr vine n lectr ca y operated hand tool, such s shears, which is simple in construction and pensive o produce yet inse s anti, ions wearing- Eurther ieatures and o ie ts o he invention will ap ear in he ie l wine escri ti n aken, in Qni'nh On with he a s anyine drawin s.

The nven ion is here a ter discl sed in a variety of preferred embodiments but it is to be indfirfimotl tha the scope of the invention is not in any way limited by this illustrative showin but only as indicated by the scope of the appended cla ms,

In the d awin s: Fig. 1 is a lon itudinal s ct on show one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a second form f the invention; and.

Fi 3 s a l n itudinal section of a furt er errn o the inv ntion.

Referring to Fig. l, the utting blades 5 and 6 of the power driven shears are oscillated on a Pivot. mounted to ex end across the head a o the sh ars an arr n ed to be. op ated by the disp acem nt of the cor or plunger of a solenold on the intermittent energization of the solen- Qid by any ui bl sour e of v l such as A]. eur ent o an r q ncy or D. C. current endered pu atin by any suit k a brea h arr ngem nt- S n e such cir uits are well Kno n he ar t is not necessary to describe them. The handle 9 is bored out to receive the elongated solenoid winding l0 and the solenoid core or plunger ii is arranged to, pass axially hro gh the sol no d Wind n and to be h l so s to p oje t he rom ut oi symmetrical r atien o t e soil y mean o a Spring [2 ar ranged between th end o a bore 13 and. the cure: i w l b unders o d that on ne gization of the solenoid the core H will be forced into a substantially symmetrical relation in the solen- Qid Winding against the pressure of the spring 1;, A red i3 is screwed into one end of the solenoi e e I! and ex ends throug spri 12 toward the head 8. At its forward end rod 13 pivoted to a pair of to le links I6, which u n are ivotaliy on ected to he projectin .6, I! Qf a pair of blades 5, 6, pivoted at the f on o e h nd It Will be evident that as the solenoid is inter.- mittently ener ized the movement of the soles noid core will force the arms 46, ii of the blades apart and therefore bring the cutting edges of the blades into closed relation. On tie-energize.- tion of the solenoid the spring l2 will return the core to initial position and thereby pull the pro- J'eqting arms inwardly, efiecting the opening of he cuttin ed s.

A bumper construction is provided at the butt end of the tool and comprises a threaded stem [8 engaging a threaded bore at the end of the handle and carrying at its forward end a bumper head 19 held against leaving the stem in a forward direction but free to slide rearwardly on the stem. A spring 20 is arranged between the end of a bore in the butt of the handle and bears against the bumper head to hold it in forward position. By this arrangement it is possible to adjust the forward position of the bumper head, which acts to absorb the rearward impact of the core on de-energization of the solenoid and also to start moving the core again into the solenoid winding. By proper adjustment of the bumper and strength of the springs a smoothly oscillating arrangement may be obtained.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, the general arrangement of the cutting blades 2 l, 22 pivoted in the handle 23 at 23a is similar to that of a pair of scissors in that the lever arms 24, 25 which are formed integrally with the cutting blades of the shears are longer than the latter, thereby providing considerable leverage. A suflicient opening and closing movement of the cutting blades is provided with a relatively small movement of the ends of the lever arms in view of the large number of cutting strokes per minute.

In this form of the invention the lever arms 2%, 25 are operated by the inward movement of the two-part core 26, 2? of a solenoid mounted in the handle, the solenoid and core being arranged transversely thereof. The two halves of the core are urged apart by a spring 28 arranged between them but the cores are prevented from moving too far outwardly by means of the tension spring 29 connecting the lever arms.

I prefer also to adjust the inward movement of the lever arms by providing a second spring 39 that will control this movement in the manner desired.

While any suitable form of connection between the ends of the lever arms and the cores may be provided, the connection indicated of ball ends 36 on the lever arms received in undercut recesses 32 in the core end is simple and satisfactory.

In the form of the shears shown in Fig. 2 it will be noted that the forward end of the handle 23 is formed to provide a foot 33 which aids in guiding the cutting blades along the cutting line and to steady the head. An on-off switch 34 is shown at the forward end of the handle and is shaped to facilitate operation by the thumb of the user.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3 a variation of the esign shown in Fig. 2 is provided by using a divided core 35, 31 working in a solenoid 35 arranged longitudinally in the handle 39. A spring 38a acts to press the cores outwardly. A lazy tong arrangement of links lli, Ill, d2, 43 connects the cutting elements to the two parts of the core. 'The shears shown are designed to cut heavy material and for this reason a large solenoid 38 is arranged to occupy most of the handle as. The solenoid core 35 at the butt end of the shears is connected by a rod M passing through a bore in the half 3i of the solenoid core at the forward end of the solenoid and this rod is connected to the rear pivotal point d! of the quadrilateral arrangement of links. The forward half of the solenoid core is provided with a bridge 46 which extends be the pivotal connection of the rearward half of the core to the lazy tongs and is connected to the diametrically opposite pivotal point t? of the links. The links 33 are pivoted together to the head or forward end of the handle at 8 while the remaining pivotal connection 39 of the links 42, 43 is provided the rearward extension by a pin 50 projecting from the end of 5! of the cutting blade 52 of the shears which is pivoted at 53 on the head of the handle. The fixed blade 54 of the shears is secured in any convenient manner to the forward end of the handle.

It is to be understood that any convenient form of on-off switch, not shown, may be provided in a spot convenient for use by the operator, in both Figs. 1 and 3.

Leads for electric current are indicated at 55 in all the figures of the drawings. 7

In order to equalize the air pressure acting on the butt ends of the solenoids of Figs. 1 and 3, which work in bores not open to the atmosphere, I may provide passages 58 (in Fig. 1) and 51 leading from the outer surface of the handle into the bores.

It will be evident that when the solenoid of the power shears shown in Fig. 3 is energized the two cores 36, 3'! will be drawn inwardly against the resistance of spring 38a thereby bringing pivots Q2 and 55 closer together and thus increasing the distance between pivots 48 and pin 5%, which will cause the cutting blade 52 to swing about pivot 53 and deliver a cutting stroke.

It will be seen that by providing electro-magnetic operating means housed in the handle of hand tools, such as shears, the tool is light enough to be readily used while held in one hand of the operator.

By my invention I greatly increase the ease of operation of tools such as shears since it is easier for the operator to follow irregular lines because of the large number of short length cuts made by the tool, and by relieving him of the need to manually operate the handles of the shears, fatigue is largely reduced.

I claim:

1. An electrically operated hand tool including: handle; a blade pivoted at one end thereof and having a lever arm extending into the handle; a second pivoted blade cooperating with the first mentioned blade and having a lever arm extending into the handle, the ends of said arms being spaced apart; a solenoid mounted within said handle; a divided core mounted within said solenoid; resilient means normally holding the halves of the core out of their inward position; means connecting one half core to one lever and the other half core to the other lever; resilient means acting to control the movement of said levers from one another; and further resilient means to control the movement of said levers toward one another.

2. An electrically operated hand tool, comprising a handle; a pair of blades pivotally mounted at one end of said handle, each of said blades having a lever arm extending into said handle; a solenoid mounted transversely of said handle and partially between said lever arms; a two-part plunger means in said solenoid; means for yieldably holding the plunger parts outwardly of the inward position they would normally tend to occupy when said solenoid is energized; and interengaging means on said plunger parts and the ends of said lever arms whereby movement of said plunger parts inwardly cause said arms to move inwardly therewith to operate said blades.

3. An electrically operated hand tool, comprising a handle; a pair of blades pivotally mounted at one end of said handle, each of said blades having a lever arm extending into said handle; a solenoid mounted transversely of said handle and partially between said lever arms; a twopart plunger means in said solenoid; means for yieldably holding the plunger parts outwardly of the inward position they would normally tend to occupy wlfen said solenoid is energized; interengaging means on said plunger parts and the ends of said lever arms whereby movement of said plunger parts inwardly causes said arms to move inwardly therewith to operate said blades; and means for yieldably resisting outward movement of said lever arms.

4. An electrically operated hand tool, comprising a handle; a pair of blades pivotally mounted at one end of said handle, each of said blades having a leverarm extending linto said handle; a solenoidmounted transverselyfof said handle and partially between said lever arms; a twopart plunger means in said solenoid; means for yieldablyholding the plunger parts outwardly of the inward position they wouldfhormally tend to occupy "when" said solenoid is? energized; interengaging means on said plunger' parts and the ends of flsaid lever arms whereby movement of said plunger parts inwardly causes said arms to move inwardly ,therewith to operate said blades; means for yieldably resisting "linward movement of said lever aims; and means for yieldably resisting outward movement of. jsaid lever arms.

5. An electrically operated hand tool, comprising a handle; a pair of blades pivotally mounted at one end of said handle, each of said blades having a leverjarm extending into said handle; a solenoid mounted transversely of said handle and partially between said lever arms; a two- HERBERT E. PAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 899,870 Joice Sept. 29, 1908 1,239,644 Tuttle Sept. 11, 1917 1,383,977 Bowman July 5, 1921 1,680,627 Mings Aug. 14, 1928 1,786,625 Lindstrom Dec. 30, 1930 1,798,756 Redfield Mar. 31, 1931 1,806,555 Gonsett May 19, 1931 1,837,197 Berman Dec. 22, 1931 1,996,813 Jeppson Apr. 9, 1935 2,146,298 Jensen Feb. 7, 1939 2,225,580 Wiggins Dec. 17, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 476,306 Great Britain Dec. 3, 1937 703.564 France Feb. 9, 1931 

